Project description:To determine the expression profiles of microRNAs (miRNAs) and to examine specific miRNA expression in endometrial serous adenocarcinoma in comparison with normal endometrial tissue and endometrial endometrioid adenocarcinoma. Twenty-one serous adenocarcinoma tissues, 20 endometrioid adenocarcinoma tissues, and 7 normal endometrial tissues were enrolled. miRNA expression profiles were examined using miRNA microarray.
Project description:Classically, there are two types of endometrial cancer, endometrioid adenocarcinoma (EAC), or Type I; and uterine papillary serous carcinoma (UPSC), or Type II. These two types of cancers exhibit distinct DNA methylation levels in promoters of many genes. In EAC, many tumor suppressor genes were silenced due to DNA hypermethylation at their promoter region. However, promoters of many of these genes remained unmethylated in UPSC. Here, we described complete DNA methylome maps of endometrioid adenocarcinoma, uterine papillary serous carcinoma, and normal endometrium, by applying a combined strategy of methylated DNA immunoprecipitation sequencing (MeDIP-seq) and methylation-sensitive restriction enzyme sequencing (MRE-seq). We took a complementary and orthogonal approach to identify DNA methylation changes unique to the two endometrial cancer subtypes in an unbiased fashion. We generated complete DNA methylome maps for endometrioid adenocarcinoma (EAC, three samples), uterine papillary serous carcinomas (UPSC, three samples), and normal endometrium (pooled samples) by integrating data from methylated DNA immunoprecipitation sequencing (MeDIP-seq) and methylation-sensitive restriction enzyme sequencing (MRE-seq).
Project description:We have sequenced miRNA libraries from human embryonic, neural and foetal mesenchymal stem cells. We report that the majority of miRNA genes encode mature isomers that vary in size by one or more bases at the 3’ and/or 5’ end of the miRNA. Northern blotting for individual miRNAs showed that the proportions of isomiRs expressed by a single miRNA gene often differ between cell and tissue types. IsomiRs were readily co-immunoprecipitated with Argonaute proteins in vivo and were active in luciferase assays, indicating that they are functional. Bioinformatics analysis predicts substantial differences in targeting between miRNAs with minor 5’ differences and in support of this we report that a 5’ isomiR-9-1 gained the ability to inhibit the expression of DNMT3B and NCAM2 but lost the ability to inhibit CDH1 in vitro. This result was confirmed by the use of isomiR-specific sponges. Our analysis of the miRGator database indicates that a small percentage of human miRNA genes express isomiRs as the dominant transcript in certain cell types and analysis of miRBase shows that 5’ isomiRs have replaced canonical miRNAs many times during evolution. This strongly indicates that isomiRs are of functional importance and have contributed to the evolution of miRNA genes
Project description:Global gene expression patterns associated with early stage endometrial cancer have been reported, but changes in molecular expression associated with tumor grade, depth of myometrial invasion, and non-endometrioid histology have not been previously elucidated. Our group hypothesized there are unique genetic events underlying early endometrial carcinogenesis. Ninety-two samples of pathologically reviewed stage I endometrial cancers (80 endometrioid and 12 serous) with a heterogeneous distribution of grade and depth of myometrial invasion (i.e. 9 IAG1, 14 IAG2, 7 IAG3, 14 IBG1, 12 IBG2, 13 IBG3, 7 ICG1, 10 ICG2, and 6 ICG3) were examined in relation to 12 samples of atrophic endometrium from postmenopausal women. Specimens were analyzed using oligonucleotide microarray analysis and a subset of the differentially expressed transcripts was validated using quantitative PCR. Comparison of early stage cancers with normal endometrium samples by the univariate t-test with 10,000 permutations identified 900 genes that were differentially regulated by at least 4-fold at a p value of <0.001. Unsupervised analysis revealed that when compared to normal endometrium, serous and endometrioid stage I cancers appeared to have similar expression patterns. However, when compared in the absence of normal controls, they were distinct. Differential expression analysis revealed a number of transcripts that were common as well as unique to both histologic types. This data uncovers previously unrecognized, novel pathways involved in early stage endometrial cancers and identifys targets for prevention strategies that are inclusive of both endometrioid and serous histologic subtypes. Ninety-one samples of pathologically reviewed stage I endometrial cancers (79 endometrioid and 12 serous) with a heterogeneous distribution of grade and depth of myometrial invasion (i.e. 9 IAG1, 14 IAG2, 7 IAG3, 14 IBG1, 12 IBG2, 13 IBG3, 7 ICG1, 10 ICG2, and 6 ICG3) were examined in relation to 12 samples of atrophic endometrium from postmenopausal women. Specimens were analyzed using oligonucleotide array analysis.
Project description:In this study, we characterize the fusion protein produced by the EPC1-PHF1 translocation in Low Grade Endometrial Stromal Sarcoma (LG-ESS) and Ossifying FibroMyxoid Tumors (OFMT). We express the fusion protein and necessary controls in K562 Cells. The fusion protein assembles a mega-complex harboring both NuA4/TIP60 and PRC2 subunits and enzymatic activities and leads to mislocalization of chromatin marks in the genome, linked to aberrant gene expression.